Welcome to the Future
by NeverMineToHold
Summary: Time may have passed but nothing has changed that Khan cannot adapt to, except for one thing, and in that, the future might yet surprise him...


Title: "Welcome to the Future"

Status: OneShot

Fandom: Star Trek – Into Darkness

Pairing(s)/Character(s): Khan Noonien Singh

Disclaimer: Copyright Gene Roddenberry and J. J. Abrams.

Rating: T

Genre: Alternate Universe – Canon, Alternative Timeline, pre-movie, gen, character introspection, family

Warnings: none

Summary: Time may have passed but nothing has changed that Khan cannot adapt to, except for one thing, and in that, the future might yet surprise him...

Welcome to the Future

John Harrison, 37, of British descent, rank: Commander. A persona as artificial as his genetic makeup. They had given him a false identity, pushed the application of plastic surgery to its limits and utilized his skills as they saw fit, all to militarize Starfleet in accordance with Admiral Marcus' vision.

Under duress, he had obeyed and will continue to do so, biding his time until his plan to save his crew would come to fruition.

Still, no matter the results, the construction of the _USS_ _Vengeance_ underway and the schematics for torpedoes of unequaled destructive power drawn up, his handlers at Section 31 still treated him like a fish out of water, a fact that amused Khan to no end in the silence of his quarters. It was as good a distraction as any, toying with their expectations, creating a false sense of security while gathering Intel, since he was in no position to tear them apart. At least, not yet.

True, he had spent three hundred years suspended in time, frozen in the darkness of the SS Botany Bay's cargo hold while Earth had evolved to its current state. Yet from the moment he had opened his eyes, shackled and drugged, with phasers and ignorance of his true potential aimed at him, Khan had known that nothing had changed.

Humans, as a rule, rarely ever did. Uniforms and insignia may, but not the motives driving those who wore them. That, at least, was something all of them, as a species, had in common.

The cities still gleamed in the sunlight, sprawling constructions of metal and glass, as pretty a facade as any to cover the corruption that lies underneath. Their citizens moved about their daily lives, docile, well-fed sheep, held complacent under the Federations rule, governed by their regulations.

Looking around, Khan felt as much disgust as at home.

He drifted with the flow of the bustling crowd, from the suburbs towards the central shopping district, and as alien as he was, Khan fit right in. He was one more nondescript Starfleet officer, PADD in hand, reviewing files and weaving around obstacles with the ease of years in the service.

An assassination, welcome diversion from weapons development, blood warm on his hands, that would come later, when he was allowed to shed his harmless mask. Let off his leash he would play the part of the tamed monster, brought to heel and kept in line with the one thing that mattered to him held over his head.

The excess of a force could be channeled in productive ways, like resentment and hatred that left him in a state of tranquil fury. The lack of something essential, however, was another matter entirely.

Surrounded by humans and other creatures, their noise, their smell, their voices, the press of their bodies, Khan was alone and disconnected. Where the presence of his fellow Augments should have been, slight pressure at the back of his mind, hum of fleeting emotions and sharp intelligence, was nothing.

He had mourned them, the moment he had opened his eyes and taken his first breath, before Admiral Marcus had made him an offer Khan could not refuse, both by choice and design.

He could barely remember a time when he had been on his own, science's sole success, genes spread out like a puzzle, for them to tweak and improve, pieces that before him never quite fit together to sustain life when they were done.

And then Khan became the first of many, his blood and genetic makeup blueprints for all his sisters and brothers to follow. And what if they were more aggressive, arrogant, less willing to obey and lacking morals? Science was today's magic, and a solution easily found: a low-level telepathic field, connecting them all.

Another strategic advantage in terms of communication that the scientists had wished to incorporate in their perfect supersoldiers, as well as a control device, to deal with the expected emotional disassociation with anyone outside their unit.

The lack of their presence was the only change Khan had trouble adapting to. Which was why his step faltered as the field flared to life.

Excitement. Impatience. Small there and gone flickers of emotion.

There was no questioning the fact that it was another Augment; other telepathic species had tried to interfere with their bond during the Eugenics War; to no avail. There was no reason to suspect subterfuge.

Khan allowed the crowd to push him to the sidelines, close to a small shop that was specialized in antique books and vid's. Not inspecting the carefully arranged classics but rather the reflections of everyone passing him by, Khan identified the source of the tenuous connection.

A young blond man in Academy red, the sole focus of attention as his peers tried to keep pace with him, the whole group moving towards the entertainment district; flushed from their preparty buzz.

"Damn it, Jim! Wait up!"

Jim shouted something over his shoulder that was lost in the noise, but Khan had no problem detecting two things: a name tag reading 'James T. Kirk' and the one visible trait all Augments shared – electric blue eyes.

John Harrison turned away from the display to go about his business, while Khan Noonien Singh started to add another layer to his plan.

The End

R&R


End file.
